Various devices, such as televisions, set top boxes, and computers, are currently capable of displaying multiple media channels received from a variety of media sources, such as broadcast television, cable television, satellite television, and the Internet. These media channels may be displayed simultaneously or sequentially on a display device. For example, a still image from each media channel input to a television tuner card in a computer may be displayed simultaneously in a grid on a television monitor, thereby allowing a user to preview a number of media channels simultaneously.
Currently, these devices either display all of the media channels, or display the media channels in sequential groups. However, with a large number of media channels, displaying all of the media channels becomes unmanageable since the display resolution of the individual media channels may be inadequate. Likewise, if the media channels are displayed in sequential groups, it often takes an undesirable amount of time to cycle back to the media channels of interest to the user. Alternatively, the user could directly indicate which media channels are to be displayed. However, this becomes a time consuming process when the number of media channels is relatively large. Additionally, the amount of effort needed to directly select the media channels desired by a user often results in the user foregoing the step of directly selecting media channels, likely resulting in the undesirable situation where all of the media channels are displayed.
Given these limitations, as discussed, it is apparent that a way to reduce the effort required by a user to display multiple desired media channels would be advantageous.